Eating well in later life is an essential part of enabling older people to live independently at home for longer. However, with increasing funding cuts to community care services in the context of an ageing society, is enough being done to encourage good nutrition in later life? This article discusses the importance of nutrition for older people and explores how community practitioners are ideally placed to spot the early warning signs of malnutrition and encourage patients to take better care of their diet.

Helen Willis, Dietitian, Wiltshire Farm Foods